Matthew Foerster, 28, who admitted responsibility for injuries that killed Van Diest but pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge, was convicted Saturday morning following a two week trial in Kelowna, B.C.

Van Diest was found late on Oct. 31, 2011 badly beaten and unconscious near a set of train tracks while still dressed in her zombie costume. She was taken to a local hospital and died the next day.

Court heard Van Diest had defensive wounds on her hands and forearms, and there were noticeable signs she had been strangled, media reports.

In November 2011 police connected Foerster to the attack after matching DNA found on the teens fingernail clippings to DNA they had on file from an earlier case.

Police arrested Foerster in April 2012 in the ski resort town of Collingwood, Ont., just north of Toronto. He was returned to B.C. and charged with first-degree murder.

In Canada, a first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.